Fish-cutting machine



P 1930- E. A. GALLISON 1,754,157

FISH CUTTING MACHINE I Filed Oct. 24, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet l April 8, v1930.

E. A. GALLISVON FI'SH CUTTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet2 4 .fizveztioz gz lwa llzz ,aw bl f a April 8, 1930. E. A. GALLISON1,754,157

FISH CUTTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 8, 1930.E. A- GALLISON FISH CUTTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct 24. 1927Patented Apr. 8, 1930 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ERNEST A. GALLISON,OF WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY AS- SIGNMENTS, TO BAY STATEFISHING- OOMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS FISH-CUTTING MACHINE Application filedOctober 24, 1927. Serial No. 228,124.

This invention relates to machines for cutting or filleting fish or foranalogous purposes. A machine of this character is more particularlvintended simultaneously to remove both of the fillets of the fish fromthe backbone and the adjoining fins.

This invention is particularly advantageous in that it avoids crushingor bruising the flesh of the fish; to this end it makes use of gravityin conjunction with means engag ing a portion of the fish that is to bethrown away in orderto move the fish body past the cutting knives. Theseknives are arranged in conjunction with sharpening elements that do notrequire separate driving means and in conjunction with cleaning meanswhereby the knives are adapted to be used for a long period of timewithout need of especial attention. Fish may be fed into a machine ofthis character by hand or automatically, for example by gravity, and arereceived in guiding means which is arranged automatically to center thefish in relation to the cutting knives. Guiding means of this characterpreferably are yieldably mounted and but lightly engage the fish so thatthe flesh there of is not injured or crushed.

Occasionally the backbones of fish are broken before the fish enters themachine, and when the broken portion reaches the knives the fish maystop advancing. To care for such situations special means are provided,for example a pedal, operable at the will of the operator of themachine, to spread the knives in order to allow the broken portions ofthe fish to enter between the knives so that the fish may continue itsadvance through the machine. Special guiding elements or filletdiverting means are provided near the cutting edges of the knives fordiverting the fillets to receiving factors at either side of themachine, while the intermediate slice, including the tail, backbone, andfins, passes between the knives and diverting elements to any suitablepoint of disposal. Preferably the various guide elements etc. areyieldably mounted so to move in response to the action of gravity ratherthan in response to the action of spring means so that an increasivelyprogressive resistance is not afforded to the movement of a fish body ofmore than normal size.

The above and further objects and advantageous features of the presentinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading ofthe subjoined description and claims in conjunction with the accompanysing drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved fishfilleting machine;

F ig.2 is a fragmentary plan view, to larger scale substantially at theplane of line 2- 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a central vertical section through the machine, as indicatedby line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a cleaning factor;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the same;

Fig. 7 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of a guideroll assembly for the knives;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan showing parts appearing at the centralportion of Fig. 2 to larger scale and partly broken away and in section;

Fig. 9 is a detail plan view ofone of the sharpening factors;

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view of the same;

Fig. 11 is a view, partially in section and partially in elevation, ofthe guide elements which receive the fish fed to the machine; and

Fig. 12 is a plan view of a portion of the equalizing means shown inFig. 11 in conjunction with the said guide elements.

A machine of the type exemplified in the accompanying drawingspreferably comprises a table-like frame 1 which supports the variouscomponent factors and elements of the machine; for example, the tablemay be provided with a stand 2 to support a motor 3 which drives theknives and rolls of the machine by any suitable means, such as throughgearing mounted in box 4 and through sprockets 5 and 6. Locatedadjoining the bed portion. of the machine are a pair of endless bandknives 10 with their cutting edges located uppermost. These band knivesare mounted upon the pulleys 11 which in turn are rotatably fixed uponstuds 12 projecting upwardly from the frame 1. Suitable guards 13 may belocated. about the outer portions of the band knives, the latter havingparallel runs at the central parts of the machine, (Fig. 4).

Disposed above these portions of the knives is guiding means, designatedin general by numeral 15', (Figs. 1, 11 and 12) whichmay comprise twosheet.met-al-.parts 16 of com-.

plementary form which when juxtaposed provide an element of substantialfrusto-con ical contour. have their upper portions pivotallynioufited,as designated by numeral 17, upon the brackets 18 which extend upwardlyfrom frame 1. Suitable equalizing mechanism, designated in general bynumeral 20, is adapt-- ed to ensure the substantially equal movement ofthe two guide. elements in response to the downward movement ofafishbodytherethrough or therebetween. Thuswhen a-fish body of suitablesize is dropped into. the. guide elements 16, they are spread apart inorder to permit passage of the fish. 'At the same time, due to theirequalizing movement, they tend to center or position the fish inrelation'to the knives 10. The equalizing mechanism is shown in greaterdetail in Figs. 11 and12 and comprises a pair: of brackets? 21 whichhave their inner ends secured to the elements 16 and have their outerends articulated upon the crank pins 22 which in turn aretmounted uponthe outstanding :cranks 235 Cranks 23 are connected to the longitudinalrod124 which is rotatable in response to the ang-ula-r movement ofeither crank 23. there-fore, both cranks.23 [must move through an equalangle, :and accordingly brackets 21 and elements 16-must'move anequal-amount.

Disposed below the guide means 15 are the auxiliary guidingelements 30which are pivotally mounted, as indicated at.-'31,1Fig. 3, upon asub-frame 32'which in turn issup ported by frame 1. Elements 80 areprefer ably offset in relation to pivots 31sothat their lower ends areyieldably urgedinward under the influence of gravity in order-to aid incentering and guiding the fish in relation to knives 10. JuX-tapOsed to.the cutting edges of knives 10 are the diverting elements 41 which areadapted to engage thesevered faces of the fillets and: to divert thesame to a pair of troughs 42. These diverting elements are preferablyof'sheet metal and are hinged at their lower edges thereby permittingtheir free upper edges toumove out wardly when the knivesareabnormally-separated as hereinafterdescribed. Located below theknives 10 are two rolls 50, which preferablyhave corrugated faces, in"orderxthe more effectively, to gripthe tail of'the fish and to draw theintermediate slicedownward= ly between knives 10. These rolls preferablyare yieldably mounted-:upon-the up-v These elements 16 preferablyObviously,

wardly inclined brackets 44 which are connected with theweights 45 inorder normally to urge the rolls inwardly toward each other.

Special .control meansncomprisingw. cables 61 and a pedal ,62areprovided in' order to bring the rolls more firmly toward each otherto provide additional tract-ion if desired. .-.In :order tovpermitithemovement of a fish? through .uthe machine, which forusome reason,1..as:for texample brokenba'ckbone, fails to advance properly through themachine, I provide special means for spreading the knives in order. tospace them at a greater distance than their normal distance from .eachother. "Forthis purpose I provide apair of elongate elements fO whichare disposed between. the knives andadjacent respectively to theopposite-ends .of rollstO, the elements normall y 'bein-gi substantiallyparallel to the knives These-.elements-70 are; mounted upon athe. rockermembers 71 which are connected to-the control rods. 72, 7 3. and-pedal.-7.4.- so thatxdepression: of the pedal willrrotatethe elongatewlementsso L that th eir" greatest dimension lies. transversely rather than;parallel to the adjoining knife portions. .Thllsutllei knives, which.are somewhat elastic, maybe-moved-.from1their fullline position to theirdotted l-ine:pos-ition,.:as indicated iniFig. 8.

.- -In order to-permitk'nivesof this charactor to operatesuccessfully-fora long period of =time, it is.-essential to providespecial sharpemngmeans,-designated in" general by numeral comprisingazpair of oppositely disposedrotatable :wheels F 81. Preferably thesewheelsrare of 1 conical "contour and-ima-y be formed of (suitableabrasive; :material, being so disposed in relation to thercuttingedge ofeach-kni-fe thatthey" are rotated in-'-response to the movement of thesame :andat'the same: time "tend to. sharpen the: surface-thereof:Thus,-as'-indicated; in Fig. 1,.thelower portions of theiw heelsmaybeengageable by the kniferedge inorder to be rotatedthereby.'Preferablyweach 1 of 'these'" wheels is mounted upon arotatablespindle.82which is received in 'an adjustable. sleeve. 83151111? .istelescopicallymountedin the boss 84 :atthe top of a bracket "85., thelatter: bleingsecuredto frame. 1. A: depending ear of't'he bracket,designatedby :numeral 86, receives arotatablescrew: 87 which isthreadediinto the body portion of'the bracket in ordernto effecttheadjustment of theagrinzding wheel or sharpen-ing aelement'. inwardly inrelation to the knife.

It is also desirable to provide cleaning means to-"remove material whichbecomes stuck uponthe knife. "Forithi'szpurpose I provide a sheetmetal-"cleaning iactor comprising a pair of similar elements 90(Figsfiand 6) which together SLlbStflIltlElllYfOI'Illifl sheath having acurvededge: 91 engaging therknife.

Preferably the material of elements 90 is suitably yieldable in order topermit the cleaning element to adapt itself to the knife and to providea yieldable opposition to material which becomes stuck to the knife.Elements 90 are supported upon an upstanding bracket 93 which in turnmay be vertically adj ustable, as designated by numeral 94.

The pulleys 11 are provided with suitable flanges in order properly toposition the lower edges of knives 10, while suitable guide rollers 100are arranged to hold the parallel runs of the knives 10 in properposition adjoining the fish guiding means. These rollers 100 are shownmore particularly in Fig. 7 and are provided with outstanding flanges101 adapted to support the lower edges of the band knives. The rolls arerotatably mounted upon bushings 102 which in turn are supported upon theupstanding studs 103 which project upwardly from adjustable brackets104. These brackets are secured to a support- 105 by means of fastenings106 which extend through slots 108 in the support and which may beloosened in order to permit adjustment of the rolls 100 inwardly andoutwardly in relation to the knives.

Adjoining each of the sharpening factors 80 I preferably locate a singleguide roll 100. Thus one sharpener may be located adjoining a portion ofthe knife which is leaving the pulley 11. The guide roll 100 may bedisposed upon the outer side of the knife and at a somewhat greaterdistance from the pulley, while a second sharpening factor may belocated upon the opposite side of the knife. The guide rolls 100adjoining the sharpening factors are particularly effective insupporting the knife against any tendency to move or twist downwardly asit contacts with the adjoining sharpening factors.

I claim:

1. A machine of the class described comprising a movable knife, anelement above the knife designed to guide a fish downwardly in a pathsubstantially at right angles to the cutting edge of the knife, and afeed roll to aid gravity in causing movement of the fish past the knife.

2. A machine of the class described comprising a pair of spaced movableknives, means defining a guide passage to direct fish downwardly towardthe knives, and a pair of rolls below the knives to draw the fish pastthe same.

3. A machine of the class described comprising a pair of spaced movableknives, means defining a guide passage to direct fish downwardly towardthe knives, and a pair of rolls below the knives to draw the fish pastthe same, the bite of said rolls being aligned with the space betweenthe knives whereby they may grip the portion of the fish passing betweenthe knives.

4. A machine of the class described comprising a pair of movable,spaced, endless knives and means for guiding a fish downwardly to theknives, said guide means including a pair of yieldably mounted guideelements.

5. A machine of the class described comprising a pair of movable,spaced, endless knives, means for guiding a fish downwardly to theknives, said guide means including a pair of yieldably mounted guideelements, and a pair of rolls below the knives to grip that portion ofthe fish which passes between the knives.

6. A machine of the class described comprising a pair of movable,spaced, endless knives, means for guiding a fish to the knives, saidguide means including a pair of yieldably mounted guide element-s, apair of rolls arranged to grip that portion of the fish which passesbetween the knives, and guide elements adjoining the knives forlaterally diverting fillets separated. from the intermediate portiongripped by the rolls.

7. A machine of the class described comprising a pair of movable,spaced, endless knives, means for guiding a fish downwardly to theknives, said guide means including a pair of yieldably mounted guideelements, a pair of rolls below the knives to grip a portion of the fishpassing between knives, and yieldably mounted guide elements adjoiningthe cutting edges of the knives to direct the fillets away from theportion which passes between the knives.

8. A machine of the class described com'- prising a pair of movable,spaced endless knives, said knives having portions in juxtaposedparallelism, means for guiding a fish to the juxtaposed portions of theknives, and means for spreading the portions of knives adjacent to theguide means to a position wherein they are spaced more than their normaldistance from each other.

9. A machine of the class described comprising a pair of movable,spaced, endless knives and means for guiding a fish downwardly to theknives, and guide elements to hold the knives in normal positionadjoining the guide means.

10. A machine of the class described comprising a pair of movable,spaced, endless knives, means for guiding a fish downwardly to theknives, guide elements to hold the knives in normal position adjoiningthe guide means, and means selectively operable to spread the knivesfrom their normal position.

11. A machine of the class described comprising a pair of movable,spaced, endless knives, means for guiding a fish downwardly to theknives, said guide means including a pair of movable, yieldably mountedguide elements, means for equalizing the movement of said elements, anda pair of rolls below the knives to grip a portion of the fish passingbetween the knives.

12. VA :maehine. of: the class described comprising a pair"ofiimovablespaeed, endless knives=,':means for guiding a fish to :the knives, saidguidemeans including a pair of yield ably mounted guide elements, asecond pair of-yieldabl'yimounted guide elements beyond the first.Ypair,'a pair of rolls arranged to grip that portion of: the fishpassing between the knivesy'and guide elements adjoining the cuttingedges of the knives for diverting fillets from the intermediate stripgripped by 'the'rolls.

13. A machine of the class described comprising a&pair of movable,spaced, endless :knives, means for guiding a fish downwardly to;theknives, means for spreading the portions of the'knives below the guidemeans to a position rwherein' they are spaced more than :their' normaldistance "from each other, and elements for diverting fillets from theinter- *mediate portion of the fish that passes between thewknives, saidelements being movable in response to the spreading of the knives.

1 L A fish 'filleting machine having, in combination, a pair of bandknives'having por- .ti'ons' thereof running in adjacent planesspacedashort'distance apart, and means for feeding a: fishpagainst saidportions of the knives including a guidefor the fish, a pairofgripping'rolls located in proximity to the cuttingedges of the knivesfor feeding a fish against-the same, and movable supporting members uponwhich said grippingrolls are mounted.

Signedby me: at Boston, Massachusetts, this 19th day of October, 1927.

ER-NEST A. GALLISON.

